Recognizing the crucial role of assistance dogs in helping wounded veterans live more independent lives, expressing gratitude to The Tower of Hope, and supporting the goals and ideals of creating a Tower of Hope Day.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 291) recognizing the crucial role of assistance dogs in helping wounded veterans live more independent lives, expressing gratitude to The Tower of Hope, and supporting the goals and ideals of creating a Tower of Hope Day.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 291, a resolution to recognize The Tower of Hope and the importance of assistance dogs. I truly believe the lives of our wounded veterans are enhanced by the role of assistance dogs that help them live more independently. The Tower of Hope has dedicated their time and effort to raise funds to train service dogs, advocate for the benefit of such valuable animals, and award grants to our wounded veterans.

The Tower of Hope is an organization that was founded by Ms. Cathy Carilli, whose husband, Tom Sinton, died in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. As a tribute to the memory of her husband, The Tower of Hope was established and plays a major role in helping those seriously wounded in the war that almost immediately followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Many servicemembers are coming home with serious injuries and currently have to wait up to 2 years before they can receive an assistance animal. Many cannot afford them or do not know about the benefits that assistance dogs provide. House Resolution 291 would help overcome these barriers by bringing more recognition to this organization that provides assistance dogs at no cost, educates the public about the benefits of such animals, and brings hope to our wounded heroes. It can cost up to $20,000 to train a service dog, and I recognize The Tower of Hope for providing these valuable animals at no cost to our wounded warriors. Their work is truly admirable.

These costs are not covered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, but by national and local organizations and generous donors. I am confident that this resolution will help promote the benefits of assistance dogs and express support to all organizations, volunteers, and donors that make such programs possible.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the support of House Resolution 291.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on House Resolution 291.

I would also like to thank my colleagues who were involved in pushing this bill forward, with a special thank you to our colleague from Florida, Mr. Hastings, for his unwavering support of our veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to unanimously support this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, unfortunately Monday night, November 2, 2009, and the morning of November 3, 2009 I was unable to cast my votes on H.R. 1168, H. Res. 291, S. 509, H.R. 3949, H. Res. 398, and H. Res. 866 due to a scheduled town hall meeting in Cerro Gordo, Illinois.

Had I been present for Rollcall No. 832, on suspending the Rules and passing H.R. 1168, the Veterans Retraining Act of 2009, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for Rollcall No. 833, on suspending the Rules and passing H. Res. 291, Recognizing the crucial role of assistance dogs in helping wounded veterans live more independent lives, expressing gratitude to The Tower of Hope, and supporting the goals and ideals of creating a Tower of Hope Day, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for Rollcall No. 834, on suspending the Rules and passing S. 509, to authorize a major medical facility project at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Walla Walla, Washington, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for Rollcall No. 835, on suspending the Rules and passing H.R. 3949, Veterans' Small Business Assistance and Servicemembers Protection Act of 2009, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for Rollcall No. 836, on suspending the Rules and passing H. Res. 398, Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift's success, I would have voted ``aye.''

Had I been present for Rollcall No. 837, on suspending the Rules and passing H. Res. 866, Expressing support for designation of a National Veterans History Project Week to encourage public participation in a nationwide project that collects and preserves the stories of the men and women who served our Nation in times of war and conflict, I would have voted ``aye.''

It is my fervent hope that my absence in no way be interpreted as a lack of support and enthusiasm for these important issues and undertakings. Congress' schedule in recent days has been subject to sometimes unpredictable additions and subtractions of days. As the original schedule had established an adjournment date of Oct. 30, 2009, I felt safe in scheduling a town hall meeting the evening of Monday, Nov. 2, for the purpose of meeting with and hearing from my constituents--the voters and citizens who are critical in guiding my votes and my conscience on the important issues we all face.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 291, a resolution recognizing the role of assistance dogs in helping wounded veterans live more independent lives, expressing gratitude to The Tower of Hope, and supporting the goals and ideals of creating a Tower of Hope Day.

Founded in 2006, The Tower of Hope is one of many organizations across the Nation providing and training assistance dogs to help individuals with disabilities. Assistance dogs not only provide a specific service to their handlers, but also greatly enhance their lives with a new sense of freedom and independence.

Training an assistance dog is fairly expensive. An individual dog trained for placement can cost upwards of around $25,000 in care and training costs, and training takes around 18 months to complete.

With so many veterans in need of this type of help, it is important for us to focus on this need and provide encouragement to organizations such as The Tower of Hope working toward helping these veterans. Individual citizens can check to see if there is an organization in their State providing training to assistance dogs and whether these dogs are being provided to servicemembers by checking the Assistance Dogs International North America Web site.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Hastings of Florida, for introducing this legislation and bringing to our attention the importance of these service dogs to our wounded warriors. I would also like to thank Chairman Filner and Ranking Member Buyer for moving the bill so quickly to the floor for consideration.

I urge all my colleagues to support H. Res. 291.

I yield back the balance of my time.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H. Res. 291, a resolution honoring the work of Tower of Hope, an organization that provides assistance dogs to disabled veterans.

Thanks to modern medicine, more and more of our brave men and women are able to survive wounds that may have been fatal in the past. This is a blessing, but it requires new tools in order to ensure that these soldiers lead productive lives.

Tower of Hope helps to keep America's promise to disabled veterans and helps improve their quality of life after their service. Tower of Hope helps veterans cross the street, go to work, take their medications, and visit the doctor's office. Tower of Hope has also helped me to craft H.R. 3266, the Wounded Warrior K9 Corps Act, legislation to reimburse organizations for the work they do in training assistance dogs and veterans.

I have seen these programs in action. These programs succeed, and I believe that every American who puts on a uniform and risks their life for this country should have the full support of this Congress.

I thank my colleague from Florida, Mr. Hastings for his leadership on this resolution and the staff and supporters of the Tower of Hope for their important work, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, unfortunately, I missed recorded votes on the House floor on Monday, November 2, 2009 and Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

Had I been present on Monday, November 2, 2009, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 832 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H.R. 1168), ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 833 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 291), ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 834 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to S. 509).

Had I been present on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 835 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to HR. 3949), ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 836 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 398), ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 837 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H Res. 866), ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 838 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 867), ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 839 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H.R. 3157), ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 840 (on motion to suspend the rules and agree to H. Res. 736).